Taste of Country Bowl Semi-Finals Begin With Five Teams After Round 2 Discrepancies

Almost a quarter of a million votes were cast during Round 2 of the 2013 Taste of Country Bowl. All four matchups came down to the final day, with one being decided by a close margin, and another producing two winners. The Semi-Finals promise to be just as contested, with just six days for each team to prove that they're best in country music.

After nearly 50,000 votes, Taylor Swift's fans outvoted Lady Antebellum's by just 51 votes. It was the closest finish in ToC Bowl history, but not the one that has fans in shock on as we move in to the third round. That honor goes to the matchup between Scotty McCreery and Brantley Gilbert.

McCreerians surged to a late lead, but a closer look at voting totals from both sides revealed that some fans finagled their way around the once-per-hour voting rule, giving their team an unfair advantage. Dedicated followers of both artists spent hours rooting for their favorite to win, and it'd be wrong to penalize either group. So, both McCreerians and BG Nation will move on to the Semi-Finals round against Team Swifties in an unprecedented three-way matchup.

The other side of the bracket was formatted in a more decisive fashion, with Eric Church's Church Choir taking 58 percent of the vote against Blake Shelton's 42 percent. Church's team will face Carrie Underwood this round, as she squeaked by her friend Brad Paisley by seven percentage points.

The 2013 Taste of Country Bowl Semi-Finals will produce two winners for the finals, which will begin next Monday (Jan. 28). Voting for the current round will end on Jan. 27 at 11:59PM ET.

Note: Anyone found to be using a technological advantage to outpace the one vote per hour rule will be deemed ineligible and his or her votes will be removed.